Three Cork businesses named Munster Regional Winners in InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Competition
Three Cork Businesses - HaPPE Earth, Breakthrough Maths and ArrayPatch, have been named as Munster regional winners at this year’s InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition.
The three categories included Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer and Deep Tech. HaPPE Earth won in the B2B category, Breakthrough Maths won in the B2C category, while ArrayPatch won in the Deep Tech category. Each company received €50,000 and will advance to the All-Island final in Dublin on November 13th.
The InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition is the largest business competition of its kind on the island of Ireland, offering a total prize fund of €800,000 to promising start-ups and early-stage businesses. The Seedcorn competition offers start-up businesses the chance to win big without giving away an equity stake.
B2B Category
HaPPE Earth based in Huggardsland, Cork City, won in the B2B category. They are the world’s first company to offer certified compostable Class 1 medical device PPE, integrated with a circular service model that turns waste into valuable resources. They design and manufacture fully compostable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as aprons, hairnets, beard covers, and shoe covers. Alongside the products, the company provides a complete circular waste management service – the HaPPE Cycle – which includes on-site bio-digestion of PPE and food waste, conversion into fertiliser, and real-time waste monitoring and ESG reporting. They control the full value chain – from local production to waste valorisation – ensuring traceability, regulatory compliance, and measurable carbon and cost savings.
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Mary O’RiordanCo-Founder CEO of HaPPE EarthFor a circular business model to be recognised as Munster finalists in Seedcorn’s B2B category, it’s a great boost to our team, and we look forward to advancing to the national finals next month.
I knew the calibre of the companies involved, and to be among them is an honour. Our next step is to expand the pilot manufacturing capacity for our compostable PPE line, as well as build our sales and marketing team to accelerate adoption in Irish and UK healthcare networks. We’re also looking at new products such as compostable hairnets, shoe covers, and beard covers.
B2C Category
Meanwhile Breakthrough Maths, who are based in Horgan Quay in Cork City, won in the B2C category. Founded in 2021, Breakthrough Maths is an online Maths grinds website for Primary School, Junior Cycle, and Leaving Cert. Each student gets four weekly classes with a tutor, from the comfort of home.
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TJ HegartyCEO of Breakthrough MathsI am thrilled Breakthrough Maths are the Munster winners in the B2C category. To be heading to the finals next month means so much. We have 20 staff so it’s great recognition of the work they do, and today is their day. I’m so proud of them and the growth of Breakthrough Maths from a small hall in Glanmire, to teaching thousands of students across Ireland and the UK in just five years.
Deep Tech Category
ArrayPatch is a spinout company from the School of Pharmacy at UCC and was founded by Dr Waleed Faisal to commercialise DerMapTM, a proprietary microneedle-based drug delivery technology. DerMap is a pain free microneedle patch in the size of a small coin which, upon application, penetrates the outer layer of skin and starts to dissolve and release medication. ArrayPatch is positioning itself in the dermatological market, focusing on innovative patch formulations of generic drugs.
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Waleed FaisalCEO of ArrayPatchIt’s great to be recognised as a Munster finalist in the Seedcorn competition. This win will be valuable to us and our ongoing work, and it would not happen without the whole team in ArrayPatch. This recognition and support from InterTradeIreland will help us to accelerate the development of the next generation microneedle platform. Thanks again to InterTradeIreland for supporting ArrayPatch. We are so grateful and very excited for the next steps.
All companies emerged victorious from a group of six innovative start-up and early-stage businesses representing Munster. They also included CRAOI Theory in Cork, Vesta Insight Labs in Ennis, Co Clare and Ainmhí Beauty in Kenmare, Co Kerry.
The regional final, held on October 14th in Limerick, saw the finalists pitch their investment proposals to a panel of judges, including active investors. The Munster regional winners will now compete for the overall prize of €130,000 at the final in Dublin next month.
Shane O’Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager at InterTradeIreland, said:
Congratulations to all the finalists who participated in our Munster Regional Finals. The competition is always strong, and the innovation we see continues to impress year after year. A big congratulations to HaPPE Earth, Breakthrough Maths and ArrayPatch, for securing their spots in the Dublin finals next month. It’s going to be one competitive final.
Shane O’Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager at InterTradeIreland
For start-ups and early-stage businesses, the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor-Readiness Competition provides a platform to demonstrate why these companies believe they are ‘investor ready’ and open to a funding injection. As part of the regional finals, companies pitched their business plan to a panel of industry judges that included Jackie King, Executive Director Ibec Global, Áine Denn Co-Founder, Altify, Amy Neale, General Partner Delta Partners, Richard Watson, Managing Partner Furthr VC and Brendan Boland, Ernst & Young.
The process mirrored a real-life investment process, and each finalist has received expert feedback on its business plan and pitch, as well as increased exposure to investors.
